Don’t let the title fool you because A Quiet Place is a scary movie that is sure to induce flinching.

Through Marco Beltrami’s score, the film is able to counteract the silence that comes from the cast.  It’s because of the silence that the score is very much a character in its own right.  While filmmakers were careful to stay silent during filmming so as to pick up the background noise, it’s the music that helps play into the scary moments.

Lee Abbott (John Krasinski) will do everything it takes to protect his family after mysterious creatures show up who hunt based on sound.  With a pregnant wife, Evelyn (Emily Blunt), Lee helps to train their children, Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus (Noah Jupe), to protect their family.

Is it what counts for normal?  Regan and Marcus seem to lead a normal life with the exception of having to look out at every turn.  They aren’t even young adults yet have such a heavy burden to bear.  Throw in Evelyn’s pregnancy and it makes the Abbott family look crazy for wanting to bring in another child!  Seriously, who would do such a thing in a world where these monstrous creatures hunt anything they hear?!?

There’s some sort of parenting allegory at play in the script written by Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and Krasinski.  This is very much an indie film being distributed by a studio so credit to Paramount for their latest batch of releases.  Give credit to Krasinski for taking this on as his third feature film behind the camera.  He’s sure to be a rising star behind the camera if he’s not already there.  Does this make him the new Jordan Peele given the comedy background?  Who knows.

In any event, the film’s prologue takes place on “Day 89” after these mysterious creatures came to be.  Nobody knows exactly where they came from but it is enough to shut down the likes of New York City.  After a quick cut following the tragic death of one of their children and next thing we know, it’s almost 500 days in and sometime in 2021 based on one very telling image late in the film.

The acting comes through through in the sign language but mostly through emotions and how they respond to each other.  Whether it’s Krasinski’s eyes or Blunt’s fear as she steps on a nail, there’s a lot at stake.  One of the high points comes in the casting of a deaf girl as their daughter.

Between cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen’s camera framing and movement and Christopher Tellefsen’s editing, the film is a solid horror thriller.  The aforementioned score from Beltrami only bumps it up.  The jump scares are scattered throughout the first two acts but the third act is where the tension increases and hearts start pounding.

A Quiet Place is far from quiet but a horror thriller for the ages.

DIRECTOR:  John Krasinski
SCREENWRITERS:  Bryan Woods & Scott Beck and John Krasinski
CAST:  Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Noah Jupe, and Millicent Simmonds

Following the world premiere at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, Paramount Pictures will release A Quiet Place on April 6, 2018.